Anything for a Friend
by MyMusic Intern
Summary: What happens when Pinocchio the Puppet meets two kids after he runs away from Lord Farquaad's guards, and they agree to hide him, until he can be free, once again?
1. Chapter 1

A\n - I don't own this, except for my characters, and I will note, this is a little shrek the musical fanfic, because, and I know I said this before, but the fairytale creatures that are in the movie version of the musical, are the ones I see when I write my fanfics about them, that might be important in future chapters.

And this is my first OC story, so don't hate me on that,,,,

anyway, please enjoy!

* * *

Hi, my name is Hope Willard, I'm 10. And I live in the land of Duloc. Its an okay place I guess, if you like being ruled by a tiny lord, and that tiny lord would be Lord Farquaad. I've never met him, but I've been told he's a nice guy. Lord Farquaad, I heard isn't our King, but he comes close to it. And he really will be King if he ever marries.

He's not that bad, except for the fact, that since my family isn't rich, like the families that live within the gates of Duloc, he had us, and other poor families live in the outskirts of Duloc. Yes, my Da, Tucker Willard, quit his job when my Ma got sick and passed away. That was 3 years ago, but it was still hard on my Da, mostly because he wanted to take care of her.

But for now, he takes care of me, and my 7 year old brother, Barker. Barker looks like my Ma did, he has her same brown eyes, her curly short, blonde hair, but on him, its just a mop. With me, I look like my Da. I have his grey, crystal colored eyes, and his dark red hair. On me, it is curly, and goes down to my waist. I'm kind of pretty, but just barely. At least that's what my best friend, Louis "Lou" Richards tells me.

Lou lives within the gates of Duloc. We first met at public school. During recess two boys were picking on me, and kept pulling my hair, until Lou stopped them. And we've best friends ever since. Lou is the same age as me, a little bit taller, and has blue eyes, and short brown hair. He's kind, but also very adventurous. Whenever he gets free time from his music lessons, he meets me by the river and we fish, swim, then go off into the woods to explore.

* * *

Now, my house, its a little run down, its a one story house. Its small, but it has a kitchen, a small living room, and two bed rooms. One for my Da, and a room that Barker and I share. We also have a barn out back, no animals, but we keep it clean for extra space.

I also have a tree house in the woods that only Lou knows about. I haven't told Barker because little kids would get hurt if he would ever try to climb up. Speaking of which, I had to go meet Lou there in a few minutes, so I put on my dirty black boots, my knee length, rose colored dress, and put a ponytail in my hair. Even so, it was still a mess that just blew every which way.

After telling Da I was leaving, he said don't be out late, I said alright, and went out the door.

* * *

A few minutes later, I finally got to a little patch of woods that led to the tree house. As I finished climbing the ladder, I sat on the ledge, when all a sudden I heard a voice yell 'Boo!", which made me jump a little and made me stand up, only to find Lou come out from the inside of the tree house.

"Lou! I told you to stop doing that! I told you not to scare me while I'm up here!", I yelled at him, but he just kept laughing as he got closer to me and wrapped his arms around me in a hug, which I returned. After he let go, we sat down and the best part about this tree house, it had a clear view of Duloc, and of Lou's house, among many others.

"Won't your other friends be wondering where you are?", I asked him.

"Yeah, but I'd rather be here with you", he said as he smiled at me. He has a pretty deep voice, but I didn't mind. The thing that made me look at him a lot more than another person, were how many freckles he had on his face.

"Oh, come on Lou, I might not be allowed to be in town, but I know your one of the popular kids".

"Well, yeah, but at least I don't act like one. And since I'd much want to be here with you, what does that tell you?" he asked. I looked down, but he nudged me with his shoulder, making me smile.

"So, what's happening in town? Anything new?", I asked.

"Well, not much, but you know how I told you about those Fairytale Creatures that lived there, you know, like those three bears, pigs, rabbit, and things like that?".

"Yeah, what about them?".

"Farquaad made a new decree that says that they are banished from the kingdom, and if they ever return, they'd be executed. Kind of cool, huh?", he said, but I was horrified. Was he crazy?

"Lou, that's horrible, how is that cool?", I said. "Think about how they feel". I should know, I'm an outsider, too.

"Ehh, I wouldn't know Hope, but who cares". I still couldn't believe him.

"_I_ care", I said, he must have heard the hurt in my voice, because he put his arm around my shoulder.

"Sorry, but at least we don't have to worry about it right?", he said, and I slowly shook my head.

* * *

After we spent the last hour playing with checkers we had up there, we climbed down the ladder, when we suddenly heard something crashing through the bushes. We then heard a really high pitched voice that was yelling for help. And at the same time it seemed to be getting louder and closer, Lou grabbed my hand, and started to pull me in the opposite direction of the voice.

"Come on Hope, lets go!", yelled Lou, but I stood my ground, and shook my head.

"No, Lou, we have to help him!", I yelled back, but he kept pulling tugging at my wrist.

"What if its someone we don't know?".

"That's a risk I'll take, now come on!", I yelled, and finally got out of his grip, and I then started to run towards the voice, with Lou on my trail, yelling at me to come back, but I kept running trying to find the owner of the voice. "HELLO?!", I yelled. The next thing I knew, I crashed into someone very tall, who knocked me over. When I finally sat up, I saw Lou kneeling next to me to make sure I was alright, and as he helped me up, he suddenly pulled me behind him.

And when he did, I looked forward to see what he was protecting me from. And as the person stood up, I realized it wasn't a person at all. It was a, puppet?

* * *

A\N - End of chapter 1, and yeah, sorry it was short, but yeah, okay, anyway, reviews are appreciated!


	2. Chapter 2

A/n - Chapter 2,,,,, enjoy! And please review!

* * *

The Puppet started walking toward us when Lou quick grabbed a stick and seemed to threaten him with it.

"Stay back you freak!", yelled Lou.

"Kids, look, I'm not gonna hurt you. I just need help", he said desperately.

"How can we trust you?", asked Lou in a serious tone, as I stayed behind him and kept my eyes on the puppet, feeling bad for him.

"If I was lying, my nose would grow, but it didn't", said the puppet. He must be that Puppet my Ma used to read me stories about.

"You were banished and were thrown out this morning, what are you doing here?", asked Lou, his voice not showing one ounce of kindness.

"My friends and I were being escorted by guards, but I escaped", said the Puppet.

After thinking it over, I quickly stepped out from behind Lou, who tried to pull me back, but I got out of his reach and walked slowly up to the Puppet, who was looking at me with a desperate look on his face as he held his hands together almost like he was begging.

As I gained my courage, I looked up at him, grabbed both his hands in mine and began to talk. "You're Pinocchio?". He suddenly smiled, making me give him a smirk.

"Yes, I am", he said happily, "and you are?".

"I'm Hope Willard", I said then looked at my best friend. "And that stubborn boy is Louis Richards", I finished.

"Its nice to meet you", said Pinocchio, still smiling, but I knew he made that comment more towards me than he did Lou, who threw the stick back in the woods, and stared at Pinocchio hard.

"So, do you need a place to stay?", I asked.

"Just until I can find my friends", said Pinocchio. So I once again grabbed his one hand and began to pull him to the direction of my house. "You can stay in our barn Pinocchio, I'm really the only one that goes in there, so it should be fine", I said, not daring to look at Lou, who I knew was wanting to talk me out of this. But he knows me too well to know that I'd never go back on my word.

"Look, I gotta get going", said Lou, so I turned to look at him while still holding onto the puppets hand.

"Okay, but Lou, you can't tell anyone about this, not even your parents, or your friends", I said looking very serious. He was quiet for a minute but then spoke.

"See ya", was all he said, and before I could hear him promise, he ran towards Duloc. I shook my head in frustration and just kept walking.

* * *

As we walked the last few miles home, it was getting dark, which made it all the more perfect, that way, there would be less chance of anyone seeing Pinocchio. And when we finally got to my house, I stopped to make sure that no one was outside. When I didn't see anybody, we quickly ran to the barn where I quickly opened the barn door, let Pinocchio and myself in, then shut it again.

Then after I stumbled around in the dark a few times, I finally found the box of matches I kept in there, got the candle next to it and lit it. I set that down on the windowsill, and started to make a bed of hay for Pinocchio.

When I finished that, I turned to see him looking at a picture of my Ma I kept in there. Its the one place I know where Da or Barker won't see it and cry over it. I walked next to Pinocchio and stared at it with him.

"That was my Ma", I said.

"She's beautiful", he said.

"Yeah she _was_", I replied, and after I turned away, Pinocchio realized that I didn't want to talk about it, and as I sat on his hay bed, he sat next to me.

"I want to thank you. Not a lot of people would do this. I'm pretty sure they would just turn me in", said Pinocchio.

"Of course, because, I mean, I'd want someone to do it for me". Pinocchio smiled at me, and I realized I should get him a blanket. So I quick got up and opened a wardrobe that was there, got a soft green blanket out of it and handed it to him.

"Thanks", he said.

"Sure. Hey, I'm gonna get going, and tomorrow, we'll talk more", I said as I headed toward the door. "And remember to blow out that candle".

He chuckled, "I will. Goodnight, Hope", he said with a smile.

"Goodnight, Pinocchio", I returned a smile and closed the barn door. I then walked into my house quietly, only to find Da asleep. Seeing that, I walked into my room, also seeing Barker asleep on the bed we share. Put on my pjs, crawled into bed being careful not to wake him, and drifted off to sleep, thinking about how I had a new friend, and how bad I was hoping Lou wasn't gonna take him away.


	3. Chapter 3

A/n - chapter 3 please read and review!

* * *

I woke up the next morning, stretched, got up to change into my black boots again, and a frilly peach colored dress. I didn't bother combing my hair, it would just be messy anyway even if I did do something to it.

I only just realized that Barker wasn't there, getting scared, I ran to Da's room and saw he wasn't there either. So I ran towards the door when I saw a note on it that said the two of them would be out all day fishing.

After I put the note down and felt relief, thats when I ran out the door and lookd around. I guess the best part of being the only family here for miles, well, with the exception of being close to Duloc, is you can go wherever you want.

I finally felt it safe to go to the barn, well, that was until I saw a boy I wasn't to find of walking up to me. I just rolled my eyes and decided to get this over with. He finally reached me and saw he still had his strawberry blonde hair, and his grass colored eyes, along with a tooth that was missing after he got in a fight with another kid. Even though he was only 11, he's tough for his age.

I crossed my arms and gave him an annoyed looked. But he just smiled at me and mimed what I was doing.

"Ooh, looks like the princess woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning", he said jokingly. But without changing my expression, I spoke in monotone.

"What are you doing here?", I asked.

"My mom thought that I should get fresh air. Moms are thoughtful like that. So, hows yours doing?", he asked. I immediately got angry.

"Shut up, Nigel! You'll never make any friends if you keep making comments like that you know!", I yelled at him but he stayed calm.

"Oh, come on Hope, take a joke", he teased. Boy was I glad he lived another mile from us. But I have no idea why he would walk a mile from his house just to come to my crummy old place.

"If you're here to see my Da, him and Barker went fishing. You can go see them there if you want", I said as I turned around to go back inside. But as I kept walking, Nigel just came to my side and walked with me.

"Actually, I'm here to see you".

"Why?".

"I got nothing better to do", he said.

"Real nice", I said as the two of us sat on my front steps looking over the fields.

"Again, another joke", he replied. And after a few minutes of silence, he piped up again, but this time in a serious tone, which was really unusal for him. "Hope, do you uh, still hang around with that Lou kid?".

"Yeah, why do you care?", I asked.

"I, I, um, I don't care", he stammered, he seemed to be mad at this, but why? "Its just, doesn't being around him make you feel bad? You know, him living in Duloc and all?".

"No Nigel, it doesn't. He's my best friend", I retaliated. Nigel just gritted his teeth and stared at the ground.

"Anyway, enough of that loser-", I was about to argue, but he talked over me, "heard about those freaks?", he asked.

"Yes, and they aren't freaks", I said, and he finally looked at me, thank goodness too, because for some reason I hate when he ignores me, I don't know why. It just does.

"How do you know?", he asked.

"I don't know, I just think that if they had stories written about them, they must be special", I said. Like Pinocchio, how his nose grows, that's pretty special in my eyes. But no way on earth was I gonna tell Nigel about it. True, I know Nigel the same time I met Lou, but thats different. Lou was with me when we met Pinocchio. And if I tell someone else without even knowing if Lou told already, and without Da knowing, it would just be too much.

"I guess", is what he responded with, as he got up and dusted himself off, "I have to go back, but do you mind if I come back later?".

"Sure", I simply said. He smiled at me, making me smile back. He then turned away and walked back the way he came. And as I watched him, I couldn't help but like the way he smiled, ugh what was wrong with me?

After seeing he left, I ran to the barn and opened the door, only to find Pinocchio looking at something small.

"Good morning", I said as I shut the door behind me and sat next to him.

"Morning", he said as he went back to looking at a picture he had with him. I stared at it too, and it showed him with people and animals I recognized. Like, the three pigs, a wolf in a dress, a cookie, and a few others.

"Who are they?", I asked.

"My friends, they ones I left behind when I escaped", he said. I stayed silent at hearing him so sad.

"You'll find them, and I could help you", I said.

"That would be nice, but I don't even know where they would be", said Pinocchio.

"Don't worry, we will", I assured him, not even knowing myself. He then pointed to an elf that was in the picture. "who's that?".

"My friend, Lee", he said.

"Is she special to you?".

"Very".

"Do you love her?".

"Well, just between you and me? Yes", said Pinocchio.

I smile at him as I stared at him. "I wonder I'll find love one day, like my Ma did with Da".

"Maybe. Because, the way I look at Lee, is the same way Lou looks at you", he said.

"Really?", I said, a little scared at the thought. "But he's my best friend". I don't think about him that way.

"You never know", said Pinocchio.

And he continued to talk to me about everyone in the picture, trying to think of where we could start looking for them.


	4. Chapter 4

A\n - chapter 4 please read and review!

* * *

I suddenly woke up in Pinocchio's hay bed, shocked I had even fallen asleep. But I felt relief once I saw Pinocchio still sitting next to me, still looking at his picture. And seeing how the sun was streaming in the window told me that it was almost time I had to meet Lou. So I got up, and picked hay out of my hair.

"Pinocchio, do you wanna come with me to the tree house?", I asked him.

"I don't know if that's a good idea kid, someone might see me", he said, and I shook my head.

"Okay, well, how bout once it gets dark the two of us could go for a walk together?", I asked.

"Yeah, sounds good", he said, I smiled at him as he smiled back, and just then remembered.

"Oh, aren't you hungry?".

"No, since I'm a puppet, I rarely eat", he chuckled. I nodded my head and left the barn, then ran towards the woods.

* * *

A few minutes later, I got to the tree house, and became a bit hesitant Lou would scare me again. But when I climbed up, I popped my head in and noticed he wasn't there. 'He must be late", I thought to myself, so I sat down on the ledge and swung my feet in the air.

But I kind of got the feeling he wasn't coming after an hour passed. With my feelings hurt, I climbed down, and was about to go back to my house, when something shiny caught my eye. I walked over to a bush, picked up the object, and saw it was a lantern with some type of dust in it. Then I thought it was Pinocchios friend, Peter Pan's lantern. I couldn't risk taking it home, so I once again climbed up the ladder, put the lantern in the tree house, and once again climbed down to go tell Pinocchio the news.

When I did get there, I saw Nigel sitting on the steps, and remembered he said he was going to come back. And all of a sudden, the hurt feelings I had about Lou, seemed to vanish. I walked over to him, and sat down, smiling.

"Hey Red, where'd you go?", he asked, but he once again became mad for some reason, "with that other kid?".

"Yeah, but he didn't show up", I said sadly, that however made Nigel smile really big. "Why do you keep wanting to know if I was with him or not?", I asked.

"Just because, its, its nothing. You can talk to him in school tomorrow though, right?", he said.

"Oh, yeah, that's good I guess". Nigel then looked at me, and before I could ask what he was doing, he started to touch my hair, only to pull off a piece of hay that was stuck in my hair. "Thanks", I said softly.

"No problem", he said, also softly, and the next few seconds we just stared at each other smiling. I didn't know why but I loved sitting this close to him, it just felt, right.

Then I started thinking I did know Nigel as long as Lou, I _could_ trust him. So I stood up, and stared at him with a serious face. "Nigel, I'm going to show you something very important so you can't tell anybody, got it". He too stood up, and him being taller than me, he had to stare down at me.

"Sure, what is it?", he asked. I grabbed his hand, and wait, was, yeah, was he blushing? I began pulling him toward the barn, opened the door, pushed him in, and closed the door behind me. I wasn't shocked when Pinocchio looked scared, but I was shocked that Nigel didn't react the same way Lou did.

"Pinocchio, this is my other friend, Nigel Bartlett, and he's promised not to tell anyone your here", I said, and I know Pinocchio trusted me, so he became more relaxed.

"Wait, you're Pinocchio?", asked Nigel.

"Yeah", said Pinocchio.

"So you're the one they keep talking about", said Nigel.

"Yeah, everyone knows he escaped", I said, Nigel turned to face me.

"No, Hope, you don't get it", he said, then turned to Pinocchio, "Pinocchio, are you friends with a White Rabbit and an Elf?". Pinocchio then grabbed Nigel by his shoulders.

"Yes, how did you know?", asked an excited Pinocchio.

"Because, Rabbit and Lee also escaped a little after you did, and they are staying in my tool shed", replied Nigel.

"Really?", I asked. Nigel nodded at me, only after Pinocchio let him go. Pinocchio picked me up in a hug and spun me around. After he put me down, he rested his hands on my shoulders.

"Hope, tonight, tonight can we go see them!?", asked Pinocchio.

"Of course", I smiled at him, he let me go and smiled at us. "Nigel, lets go, you gotta be home soon", I said and we let Pinocchio to his thoughts, left the barn and shut the door. "Nigel, if you have his friends too, why did you call them freaks?".

"Well, how was I going to do that? If I'd known you had Pinocchio, I would have told you earlier. Is that why Lou comes here more often?", he asked.

"Yeah", I said ashamed. But he just nudged my shoulder with his fist, lightly. I couldn't help but smile, and couldn't believe what I had done next. "Nigel, this is just so great!", I exclaimed, as I threw my arms around him in a hug. And I continued to hug him, he seemed to be shocked, but then hugged me tightly as well. We slowly let go of each other, but I kept my hands on his shoulders as he kept his hands of the sides of my waists, as his green eyes kept staring into my diamond eyes.

"Hope, I,", he whispered.

"What?", I whispered. He just let his hands slide down to his sides as I too let go of him.

"Nothing, I'll see you tonight", he smiled.

"Bye", I said sweetly, as I smiled back, and waved weakly. He then turned and disappeared behind the hill. What was going on with me? At first I couldn't stand to be near him, but _now_, that's all I wanted to do. And when he hugged me back,,,,,,,,, I liked it a lot.


	5. Chapter 5

a/n - chapter 5, very short, but please no hate, enjoy!

* * *

It was finally dark, but Da and Barker hadn't come home yet. Still, it seemed all too perfect. So after I walked over to the barn, I opened the door and saw Pinocchio pacing.

"What's wrong?", I asked, he turned and faced me giving me a scared look.

"What if they hate me?", he asked.

"Huh?"

"Rabbit and Lee, what if they hate me for leaving them".

"You had to, or no one would know you would feel this way. Gee, I guess Farquaad isn't such a good guy after all", I said.

"I guess. And nope, he's the worst. Is Nigel here yet?", he asked. I went out the door and saw him coming over the hill.

"Yep, you can come out, its too dark for anyone to see you". He nodded his head, and followed me out into the yard, where Nigel greeted us.

"You guys ready?".

"Ready as we'll ever be", Pinocchio said. He chuckled, grabbed my hand and led us up the hill. It was a beautiful night, the stars were so bright, just as the moon was. And with the lightning bugs and crickets doing what they do, what could be better? I turned to look at Pinocchio as we walked, and saw he was still nervous. I smiled at him, grabbed his hand, and he looked at me with a grateful look on his face.

* * *

After two more miles, we could finally see a light in a window, which I recognized as Nigel's house, and Pinocchio gave a gasp of delight. I haven't been here since I was 5. We finally got to the edge of his house, and hid behind a useless stone well and Nigel looked around.

"Folks must still be off with Nora and Nellie", he looked at Pinocchio, "my twin sisters. We're good", Nigel said. He always hated having the same letter of his first names as his sisters. He then led us to a tiny tool shed, and opened the door, but told us to wait out here, went in and closed the door, but I could hear what he was saying. "Rabbit, I have a surprise for you, come on", said Nigel, and opened the door to have a white rabbit hop out, and stare at me.

"Hello miss", said the rabbit politely.

"Hello", I said back, and when he turned to see Pinocchio, the two suddenly ran at each other and hugged.

"Rabbit! I'm so glad to see you!", said Pinocchio.

"You too!", said Rabbit, who then turned to look at me, and hopped over to me, and shook my hand, as I smiled at him. "And you must be Hope", he looked at Nigel. "Nigel, is this the pretty girl you kept telling us about? Because you were right". I looked at Nigel who was blushing once again. He thought that _I_ was, pretty? "Even when you weren't telling us about her, Nellie sure gave us an ear full about it", chuckled Rabbit.

"You told your sisters?", I asked.

"I had to. They saw them the day I hid them here. I told them I'd do their chores if they'd keep it quiet", Nigel said.

"Rabbit, where's Lee?", asked Pinocchio.

"She's down by the river. Nigel said she could after everyone else left".

"I'm gonna go see her", said Pinocchio, and he headed behind the tool shed, and went down to the river. The three of us peaked around the side, and saw an elf sitting next to the water, and Pinocchio going up to her.

"Umm, we should leave them alone", said Rabbit. Nigel and I stared at each other, not wanting to, but I guess we had to. We sat on the grass, and talked to Rabbit.

* * *

(Pinocchio's P.O.V)

As I walked down to the river, I saw Lee, but her back was turned to me. I was so nervous, what would I say? And when I finally was behind her, I spoke.

"Uh, Lee", she seemed to jump, but turned and saw me. She stared at me with a look I couldn't really tell what she felt. I got my answer, because the next thing I knew, I found she had ran into my arms, and kissed my cheek.

"Pinocchio, I missed you so much!", she said, as I hugged her back, and just stood there, taking in how she smelled, and just enjoyed finally getting to hug her.

"You too", I said.

* * *

A/n - Kind of, but not really a cliffhanger there, anyway, please review! I love reviews!


	6. Chapter 6

a/n - I DO NOT own these two songs, they belong to "Newsies", and "Teen Beach Movie", and I DO NOT own anything else, please enjoy and review!

* * *

After Lee had hugged Pinocchio, the two stood next to each other, not wanting to be apart, anymore than they already had, and began to talk about what happened since they last saw each other.

"And that's how I met Hope", said Pinocchio.

"I'm glad she didn't turn you in", said Lee, gratefully.

"Yeah, she's a good friend", smiled Pinocchio, as he stared at Hope, as her, Nigel and Rabbit were talking, and faced Lee again. "So what about you Lee?".

"Well, I was next to Rabbit when we saw the guards distracted trying to get Tweedle Dum. We told everyone we would be back for them, and some of us made a run for it, and some got away, but some didn't", said Lee. "So Rabbit and I were walking, along the road and saw Nigel playing with Nora and Nellie, and he agreed to hide us in the tool shed.

"Good", said Pinocchio, holding onto Lee in a side hug.

"Yeah, and for the most part, I", she paused. "I was hoping to find you again", she smiled at Pinocchio. "but you found me".

"I'm happy about that", he said. But he suddenly got frustrated. "You know, someone _has_ to stand up to Farquaad", he stopped talking and seemed to be thinking. "You know what else, enough of hiding, _I'm_ going to see him, and demand he give us our rights back". Lee however, was shocked.

"But Pinocchio, you'll be executed if you do remember?". Pinocchio gave her a serious look, and put both his hands on her shoulders.

"I'll take that risk. If it means being free, then yes, I'll do it", he said determinedly.

"Pinocchio, what about her?", Lee gestured to Hope. "If Farquaad finds out where you've been this whole time before you go and talk to him, he'll find this place, and he'll use her to get to you". Pinocchio was horrified at the thought, and once again looked at his new friend, who waved at him and smiled. Pinocchio waved back, but felt guilty, how could he not think he would put her in danger, he didn't mean to.

"I'd never let that happen", Pinocchio said with a sense of protectiveness.

"And if Rabbit and I lose Nigel, we couldn't forgive ourselves", she said.

"Exactly. I'll do this alone", said Pinocchio as he looked over the water.

"You know, this is the worst time to tell you, but I, I, love you, Pino", said Lee, hearing this, Pinocchio turned and looked at her, with a small smile on his face.

"You, love me?".

"I do", responded Lee. Pinocchio suddenly grabbed Lee in a hug, and let her go to hold onto her hands.

"Lee, I love you too", he said happily. The two stared at each other, when Lee suddenly started to sing to the puppet.

_"Till the moment I found you,_  
_I thought I knew what love was,_  
_now I'm learning what is true,_  
_that love will do what it does", _Lee sang, as she put her hands on Pinocchio's face, so he was looking at her. And he smiled at her touch, also touching her face.

_"The world finds ways to sting you,_  
_and then one day decides to bring you,_  
_something to believe in,_  
_for even a night,_  
_one night may be forever,_  
_but that's all right,_  
_that's all right", _she sang, and became teary eyed, mostly because she was letting her hidden feelings for him, pour out by song. For her, that was the best way to do so. And for him to listen, and hopefully feel the same way, was amazing_. _She also started to cry because if he did leave to stand up to Farquaad, she hoped with all her heart he would return to her.

_"And if you're gone tomorrow,_  
_what was ours still will be,_  
_I have something to believe in,_  
_now that I know you believed in me", _she finished, and continued to stare and hold Pinocchio, as he moved his hands around her waist, held her closer, and kept looking into her eyes, he began to sing.

_"We were never meant to meet,_  
_and then we meet,_  
_who knows why,_  
_one more stranger on the street,_  
_just someone sweet passing by", _Pinocchio meant every word he sang. Even the day they met at the palace, before they were being told by Farquaad that they weren't allowed in the Duloc anymore. He fell in love with her the first time he saw her. And to keep his love for her hidden, he was going to let it all out.

_"An angel come to save me,_  
_who didn't even know she gave me,_  
_something to believe in,_  
_for even a day,_  
_one day may be forever,_  
_but that's okay,_  
_that's okay", _he sang, and very lightly, kissed Lee on her nose, making her giggle, and him smiling in return.

_"And if I'm gone tomorrow,_  
_what was ours still will be,_  
_I have something to believe in,_  
_now that I know you believed in me", _sang Pinocchio. Before they knew it, they were falling in love, and they were nothing but happy.

_"Do you know what I believe in,_  
_look into my eyes and see", _they both sang, and began to slow dance in small circles, without taking their eyes off of each other. While also taking in the romantic atmosphere, the stars, the moon, the fireflies, just everything.

"Lee, I might not come back if I go and talk to Farquaad into giving us our homes back. You know that right?", confessed Pinocchio.

"I know", said Lee, tearfully. "But I also know you'll be doing what's right".

"Right. And I just want you to know. Ever since we met, I couldn't stop thinking about you. And how much I wished to know you better, and I got my wish", smiled Pinocchio.

Lee smiled at what he said. "And you know I believe in you no matter what you decide. And to be honest, I'm jealous of you. About how you're so brave and how you aren't scared of anything. That's one of the things I love about you".

"Well, there you're wrong, Lee. I am afraid of one thing", Pinocchio said as he stroked her blonde hair with his fingers. "I'm scared of losing you".

"Don't be", smiled Lee.

_"And if I'm gone tomorrow", _sang Pinocchio_._

_"What was ours still will be", _joined in Lee.

_"I have something to believe in,_  
_now that I know you believed in me", _they both sang together, still dancing, and staring lovingly at each other.

_"I have something to believe in", _repeated Pinocchio, as he now kissed Lee on her cheek, and she kissed his wooden nose.

_"Now that I know you believed in me",_ they both sang. And when they finally stopped dancing, they were almost in a trance, and were too mesmerized on each others eyes to care about anything else. So, to finish it all off, they kissed each other on the lips. It was the first time for the both of them, and it couldn't have been more romantic.

They stayed that way, until Rabbit, who wanted to talk to them, hopped down, and the three of them sat on the grass to talk, away from the kids about how they were going to find the rest of their friends.

* * *

Nigel and Hope just watched Rabbit hop down to Pinocchio and Lee and saw the three of them talking. And the two kids stayed where they were sitting and began to talk as well.

"I wonder what they're talking about", wondered Nigel.

"I don't know", said Hope. Nigel then looked at Hope who was picking at a piece of grass.

"Hope, do you like Lou?", he asked.

"I told you, he's my best friend", she said, kind of annoyed. "Why?".

"More than a friend?", he asked. She tensed up a little.

"No. Why?". She stood up, making Nigel stand up, so he was looking down at her.

"Because, I, I like you more than a friend", he answered blushing. She smirked, now she realized what she had been feeling for him lately, they weren't friendship feelings. She felt love for him. And he felt it for her. "Forget it. It was stupid", he said. And before she could say anything, he turned his heel, and walked to his house. She couldn't just let him walk away like that. But the only thing she wanted to say and do more than anything in the world, was say, "Nigel!", she yelled, making him turn and look at her.

"Nigel, kiss me", she said, happy to see, he was facing her fully now.

"What?", he said shocked, not believing what he was hearing.

"Kiss me", Hope repeated. And became happy once again, as she saw him running toward her. And when he finally reached her, he grabbed her in a hug that held her tightly against him, as she too flung her arms around his neck pulling him closer to her.

And as they smiled at each other, the two kids kissed each other on the lips. Just like the puppet and elf, neither of them cared about anything else, except for the person they were kissing. When they finally did stop, they stared at each other laughing.

"Hope, I love you", said Nigel in a hurried voice.

"I love you, too", said Hope in the same voice. And just like Pinocchio and Lee, they began to sing, all the while still holding onto each other very tightly, not letting each other go.

_"When it's meant to be,_  
_ the stars seem to glisten",_ sang Hope, her voice being the most beautiful thing Nigel ever heard.

_"Meant to be,_  
_all the clouds depart,_

_When it's meant to be",_ they both sang together, still staring at each others beauty.

_"It's destiny calling",_ sang Nigel as he stroked Hope's long, red hair, and as she patted his strawberry blonde hair.

_ "And if you listen, you'll find your heart",_ they finished, and finished it off with one more kiss.


	7. Chapter 7

a\n - please read and review, enjoy!

* * *

When I whispered to Rabbit and Lee to remember the plan, Hope and I said goodbye the three of them and headed back to her house.

* * *

Since it was still night, we just took our time and enjoyed the rest of the walk.

"I like your friends. They're very nice", she said while smelling a flower. I still felt guilty for not telling Hope about my plan. But I knew that if I did, I'd only be putting her in danger. "Yeah, they're the best", I said.

"Hope?", I stopped, and when I did, she stopped also and looked at me.

"Yeah?".

"Um. What would you say if I left, to go find my friends?", I said hesitantly, just looking at my feet.

"Yes. And I'll help you. That's what friends are for right?", she said happily. But when I looked up at her with a serious face, hers matched mine.

"I mean, I would look for them by myself", I said, her face unreadable. And it killed me when I saw tears form in her eyes.

"You, you mean, you're are leaving", she said tearfully.

"Well", I had to lie, but not really lie, so my nose wouldn't grow. "Yes, but I want to do this, so I can protect someone I care about". She wiped her tears away, and turned her back to me.

"I get it. My mom left me. I'm used to it", she cried. That made me feel worse.

"Hope, please", I said, my voice weak. She still didn't face me, but I could still hear her crying. "Are you mad?". And she finally faced me, with a small smile, walked up to me and held my hand.

"No. I know you're doing it for the right reason, and you don't want me involved. But you'll come back if you need me right?", she said, and I smiled back, feeling relived.

"Of course", I said, as she gave me a very tight hug, which I returned. She looked up at me, but kept her arms around my waste, and I looked down at her.

"So where are you gonna go?". But when I was about to answer, another voice behind Hope spoke up.

"The puppet my dear, will be coming with us to Duloc", said the stern voice, making us look up toward the voice, only to find five of Farquaad's guards, standing not so far away from us, wearing armor, and holding swords. At the sight of them, neither of us spoke, mostly because we were scared of what might happen. I remained frozen with fear, but came to my senses as the guard spoke again, knelt down on his knee, gave a fake smile, and motioned his finger toward him, but he wasn't looking at me. "Come here, sweetheart", he said in a fake voice, and as I looked down at Hope, she gasped from fear, and I could see it in her eyes too. Suddenly I pulled her behind me, and kept her there.

"Leave her alone", I said determinedly, only to make the guard give another serious face at me. I'm guessing he didn't take me seriously when he heard my high pitched voice, because he smirked. But at that moment, what he thought of me didn't matter. The only thing that mattered was my friend, and began to think of a plan to get her out of here safely.


	8. Chapter 8

As I continued keeping track that the guards were in front of us, I also kept Hope behind me, mostly because I remembered these guards would bully my friends and I when they were leading us out of Duloc. So as they were slowly walking toward us, I began to walk slowly backwards, with Hope clutching the back of my shirt. I couldn't lead them to the others, so I had them follow us to the edge of the woods.

"Where have you been this whole time, Puppet?", said the lead guard.

"I'm not telling you", I said, with a bit of annoyance in my voice. "And why am I being arrested, I haven't been in the Kingdom".

"But since you decided to leave, you will be brought to talk to Lord Farquaad, and be executed in the arena", he answered. I froze with fear again. "Now, tell us. Where have you been?", he repeated.

"No", I also repeated. He once again, stopped looking at me, and down to my side, which made me very uncomfortable.

"Hi sweetie", he said in another fake voice. I clenched my teeth and outstretched my right arm, to show that I didn't want them near her. The guard however looked at me, and seemed to be gloating.

"Oh, you care for her. Isn't that sweet", he said with a hint of mockery. "I have another idea. Instead of talking to you, you wouldn't mind if we talked to her would you?", he asked as he got closer. I gave him a serious look. He was finally face to face with me, and when he pulled out his sword, he pointed the end of it which made Hope gasp.

The guard then positioned his sword under my chin, so he could point it up, to make me look up at the sky. And the next thing I knew I heard a whimper, and felt a tug on the back of my shirt, then felt the guard lower his sword, so I could see what happened.

I became very angry when I saw the Head Guard backing away, with Hope in front of him, with his arm around her, forcing her to go with him and his men. I began to walk towards him, but stopped when he pushed his sword against her neck. It killed me when I saw tears roll down her face, and since I couldn't do anything, that made it even worse.

"One last chance Puppet, either you come with us to Duloc", he looked down at the young girl, who was struggling a little in his arms, who only kept her eyes on me, "or she goes", he finished.

"Alright, I'll go", I said, my voice full of hatred. The guard answered with a victorious grin, and lowered his sword.

"Good but just to make sure, you do, I'll be taking her with me", he said slyly.

"No", I said quickly.

"Don't worry, she'll be perfectly safe with me", he said in a voice that seemed to me that he was lying, as he dragged her to his horse. And I started to take a few steps toward them.

"Just don't hurt her", I yelled, but he continued to ignore me, and as another guard came up to me, I watched Hope struggling in his grasp, and could hear what they were saying.

"Stop struggling, kid", said the guard menacingly.

"Please, please", cried Hope.

"Shut up", he responded.

"Please, leave him alone", she cried once more, and the guard suddenly slapped her, making her cry out a little. That was it. I told him not to hurt her, and he did. The next thing I knew, I was running towards the guard, and before he could look behind him, I ran up next to him, and shoved him hard. Causing them to fall over, and as he struggled to regain himself, I ran to Hope, who stood up and hugged me, I quick hugged her back, because with the guards chasing us, I didn't have much time.

"Hope, I need you to hide in the woods", I said as I knelt down to her, and put both my hands on her shoulders as she put her hands on my wrists.

"I can't just leave you", she cried. I then put my hands holding her face, while my thumbs wiped away her tears.

"I need you to. I'll be okay", I said to her.

"I can't lose you, too. Just let them take me instead", she sobbed while putting her hands over mine. I smiled at her.

"You know I won't let you do that. But we will see each other again".

"You promise?", she asked.

"I promise, Hope, now go", she gave me one last hug, which I returned, and felt myself also about to cry, but I didn't have time for that. So I stood up, pointed to where she should go, and she ran in that direction, but not before giving me a sad look, then she disappeared into the woods.

Seeing her out of harms way, I had to distract them, so she could get further away. "Over here!", I yelled, which made them follow me. I ran for a few minutes until I ran into another part of the woods, wishing I could lose them.


End file.
